This invention relates to restraints and restraining systems used to vertically and laterally restrain cargo carrying units such as pallets or containers in aircraft and to vertically and laterally guide cargo units as the units are moved within the aircraft into the position they are to occupy during flight, and in particular to restraints which automatically retract out of the path of a moving cargo unit and which can be selectively latched in a retracted position.
Cargo which is to be transported by aircraft is generally loaded into a cargo carrying unit. The cargo units are generally either full-size units or half-size units which have a width somewhat less than the width of a full-size cargo unit. As cargo units are loaded or unloaded from an aircraft, it is desirable to provide lateral guides at each side of the path traveled by the cargo units to provide guidance as the cargo units are being moved. When the cargo units are in their final loaded position in the aircraft, it is required to provide the cargo units with longitudinal, lateral and vertical restraint.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,412, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a prior form of cargo restraint, which allows cargo units to pass over the restraint.
However, in one embodiment, the restraint cannot be secured in a retracted position, since it automatically returns to an upright position. In another embodiment, the restraint can be secured in a retracted position, however unique retracted and secured positions distinct from each other are not disclosed. The present invention provides for both lateral and vertical restraint of cargo units, while providing means for positioning the restraint in both a retracted position and a distinct secured position below the roller plane of the cargo units.